Protecting My Credit Or Embarrassing Me While Out To Dinner?

Thanks, Target Credit Cards, for embarrassing me while out to dinner with a friend this weekend.
This past Saturday, I went to Verizon Wireless for a long-overdue cell phone upgrade. I put the charges for the new phone and for the insurance on my Target Credit Card.

I, then, went to work for a few hours. When I tried to pay to exit the parking garage, my card wouldn't go through. Weird but okay, I'll use my debit card. Sometimes those parking payment kiosks can be finicky. No big whoop.
On Sunday evening, I went out to dinner with a friend and, like most dinners, we split the check right down the middle by giving the waitress two credit cards. After a few minutes, the waitress, who couldn't have been nicer, by the way, came back to the table to advise that my card was declined.
What in the world? This is my credit card...not my debit card. There's way more money available on my credit card than on anything else I own...including savings bonds.
I gave the server another card and all was okay. It wasn't until later that I wondered what would've happened if I didn't have another card. What if I didn't have any cash? What if my friend refused to help me out? Would the restaurant make me wash dishes in the kitchen to pay back the cost of my meal?
What if I wasn't with a friend at all...what if I was buying dinner for a client or something super important...like purchasing NSYNC reunion concert tickets! UGH...the horror!
The Target Credit Cards customer service line was closed on Monday due to the Memorial Day holiday so I had to call this morning from work to see what the heck they did to my account.
Really long, drawn-out story short...er than it already is. The $6.99 fee for the cell phone insurance policy came from Las Vegas, NV and that's what flagged the Target gurus to put a hold on my card.
I appreciate that they provide this anti-fraud service but can't there be a special code so the merchant you're standing in front of doesn't think you're trying to get a free meal? Instead of just saying "DECLINED" on the credit card machine and receipt paper, can't it say "PLEASE CALL US" or "HEY, YOU'RE NOT IN VEGAS!"